Rebekah's second note of the day: The Welsh pronounce the letters C-E as [Cu] not [Sea]
ex- I live in Cefn Bryn pronounced [Ca-fin] [Brin]
Warning: This is a long post so be ready to read. I promise they won't all be like this. I've had to make up for lost time since I've been here 4 days already.
Okay so I still can't believe I'm here. Seriously, the only thing keeping me grounded is the accents I here down my hall which reminds me I'm not in Kansas anymore.
So I've had a bit of a culture shock. yes... the dreaded culture shock. Not that its all bad or anything its just been rough these past few days. So let me start from the begging.
I got in to London at about 4pm on the 24th. I loved flying in. When I looked down from the sky I could see what looked like patchwork in a quilt. I got very excited. The plane ride wasn't so bad. It was a 9 hour flight which was about the worst part but I had no seat-mate so I was able to lay down and sleep.
So I got into London. Wow is that a city. It was really overcast and rainy but the central bus station was just a walk away which felt like a lifetime with all my luggage. I knew I needed the 201 to get to Swansea, Wales but the place was packed. I was way too tired to deal with lines and people so I went up to the help desk and asked her for some help. She, with her awesome British accent, walked me to a kiosk and helped me buy my ticket. So I pretty much waited by the train station for the bus. Uh oh... the clock kept ticking by. It was 11:10am and the bus which was supposed to arrive at 11:05 was a bit late. Not my idea of good. I had watched every bus go by so I knew I hadn't missed it but I could never know. At about 11:20 I asked a gatekeeper if he knew about bus 201. He told me it was running late and should be here in about 15. I couldn't be happier. I sat on the bench and waited. I loved people watching. Not only was it interesting to see the many different kinds of people but hearing people talk was the best. So my bus finally came and i loaded it. The man who loaded my bags was a total sweetheart. He kept on apologizing for being late. I was just happy they were there.
So the bus ride was about 5 hours. I loved it. There were other students on the bus but they happened to get off at other stops along the way. The countryside was beautiful. Since it was the outskirts of the city there wasn't much to see at the start but as we went along it was just rolling hills, castles, and farm houses. I fell asleep and when I woke up we were in Newport which I think is in Wales. The sun was setting over the bay area and there was this huge bridge, like the San Francisco bridge, over the water. It was gorgeous. Everything was so still and the towns were very classic looking with small shops.
Next stop was Swansea. I kinda panicked because we were at the city centre (yes they spell it like that) and the place was bursting with people. I got off the bus and walked up tot he first taxi I saw. told him to go to the Swansea campus and away I was.
So I arrived. Went to the main accommodations office in Pressali, got my room card and keys, and went to find my room. I'm not that far up which is really nice because I don't have to take the elevator. Its a pretty nice room I won't complain and it has a refrigerator which is really nice.
When I got in I flopped on my bed and relaxed. After dozing off I decided to roam the campus which is quite small if you exclude the athletic-union. My favorite part was the seagulls. I here them every morning and they just fly around. I haven't been to the beach but from what people say its just across the street. I still need to purchase an athletic club card so I can join the sailing team and try my luck surfing.
I admit that the first couple days here were very challenging. I felt like a lost puppy. I hadn't even researched what money looked like. I heard quid, pound, pence. Okay so I figured that pence was one cent but they have so many nicknames for money. I kept getting pounds back but their form of a pound is in a cent piece which takes a bit of getting used to.
So some of the problems I've had. Hmmm... lets see. I had a compulsory meeting on Friday at 10am which I missed. I woke up in panic mode only to find that my alarm short circuited or just stopped working in the middle of the night. yes.. i panicked. I looked in the mirror only to be horrified at the sigh of my eyes which were red, hurting, and bloodshot. I had greater problems so I threw some water on my face and dashed out the door. I went running to the place where the meeting was supposed to be held in the clothes I slept in the night before (or close to it). When I got there the room was empty. I saw people walking around with these blue packets which I assumed were from the study abroad office. I speed walked (yes I didn't want to be that conspicuous) to what was supposed to be the American studies office which I later found was actually moved due to construction. So I looked on my map for the international office who turned me over to the Gallagan building which took me forever to find. The American studies office was supposed to be close by but I couldn't find it. Finally I walked up some stairs praying it was up there. By God's grace I found it. I took a deep breath and knocked on the door. I was greeted with the warmest welcome. One of the department heads was like: "were you delayed" which I'm thinking was a nice way of saying. "did you sleep in!" haha it was so not funny at the time. I ended up getting everything I needed and more. I'm still working on some of my classes which I have to go get signed off for but I have the entire week which is nice. My computer is finally working and I'm finding skype to be amazing. I am using my computer as an alarm clock until I'm able to go into town. I just bought my bus pass which was ridiculously expensive and only usable term 2 (which ends in March) but in the advisement of my study abroad adviser is the best thing to do because "your money will just go" or in American terms: cash is expensive to come by here so a card is best because its easy. My advisers by the way are really nice and have answered any questions I have. I probably seem like the most insecure person to them because I'm always looking at the ground due to the fact that my eyes make me look stoned. Either way I really don't know what I would do without them.
I am finally starting to feel more in place and not so sketchy. Its an 8 hour difference here which has put my body through a loop but everyday I'm better. Its weird because I've been eating one meal a day (maybe) because I'm always hungry and never starving so I have to be careful. I wake up pretty late about 10am and run around doing errands and then eat around 4pm and i'm back in my room and I have a snack and go to bed. yesterday I didn't eat all day. probably because I did what I'm not supposed to do and took a nap. I went to bed at 4pm and woke up at 10pm which did my body a huge disservice. I finally got my meal card so I can eat more.
speaking of cards. This school is card happy. I have 5 cards so far and I'm not done. Its not like WSU where your card is everything even a debit card. No... here there is a card for everything. So I have my ISIC card, meal card, dorm card, bus card, school ID card, and I still need my union card(s). yes... they are car happy. Just more cards for Rebekah to lose.... yea!
So Rachelle I have to do a shout out to you because I have seen 2 smart cars parked in the parking lot here. tomorrow I'm going to take a picture for you. Well... its not like there are any big cars since all the cars are small but we love the car. On my way here I saw a Porsche but the back of the car was cut off so it was mini. I thought it was cute. Everything is mini and box which is so good for their economy well not the box part. Now if only America would catch on....
The food isn't bad. I stick to anything that says Hawaiian because I know I'll get pineapple. today I had a Hawaiian sandwich which was salmon and pineapple. It was really good. The pop is way too sweet for me. Its like they took out the carbonation and and added sugar. yuck. The food service workers wear these cute little plaid uniforms. Luckily the food here is pretty cheap which is nice. I'm yet to find the cheapest place on campus.
Oh and Leah you should know that if you came here you would be right in place. People here can NOT dance. They just sway their torso's back and forth. I met this guy Ian they other night. He was actually quite cute (or maybe its the accent) anyway, he plays rugby for the school. A really sweet chap. He told me he had visited the states and that I would have to get used to the dancing here. and yes I do. Any American is a better dancer then the students at the school. And its funny.... they play songs from Backstreet Boys and Kanye West and they ask me if I'd heard it in America. I look at them funny because the song originated in America. They have this weird perception that every song (even songs by say Justin Timberlake) originated from the UK somehow. I think this is funny. I'm just like: "uhm I'm pretty sure everybody in the states has seen Baywatch (a song they all sing along too) and was in love with Backstreet Boys." In a way I kind of want to be like: "Do you know Coldplay? or The Beatles?" But I'm trying to make friends not deflect them so..... I'll keep those thoughts in my head.
So I walked in Fulton (the main building) and the student-union groups were advertising for their clubs. The sci-fi club was out there and the members were all wearing star wars costumes. They looked really good too. My favorite of course was Luke :)
I am meeting with a a couple club members which I'm excited about and I only need one more class to get signed off for which should be good.
So yep... that's what I've experienced so far. Sorry it reads like a text-book but I hope in the future to be able to share with you funny stories and experiences as they come up. I will for sure be writing a new blog every Sunday but check back often because everyday there will be a new experience, story, strange observation, or culture difference I will want to share with you. The photos at the top and bottom of my page are actually of Swansea. The top is the beach sunset here. It's beautiful. and the bottom is the Tesco here, a very popular place to buy groceries. You can kind of see the short cars.
IF you don't have skype get it so we can talk all you need is a microphone and its free. If you don't have nor want skype and you have some sort of IM service add me so we can chat if you like I want to keep all my friend :) I'm going to be getting a phone (aka sim card) tomorrow so maybe I will call you. My old phone is broken so sorry if I don't have your number memorized. I'll figure it out somehow.
windows live: acting_2005@hotmail.com
skype: Rebekah.Bartholomew
I uploaded some video when I was on the bus leaving the city. I know they aren't very exciting but hopefully I can make some video that's more entertaining. Maybe some Welsh students dancing... :)
oh and please comment on my blog so I can know what you think. I'd love to read your comments over the next couple months.
If you want to see the full list of pictures. (sorry the video isn't available) then go to this link:
http://s114.photobucket.com/albums/n241/liabw05/finallyhere/
cheers!
1 comment:
Hey, I'm glad you got a video of what the place looks like, and posted some pictures. You know me and pictures. I'm glad you're going to blog your adventures.:)
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